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Beginner's Guide- by Wazirak1
Cinematic Epic So here is the basis for this wiki and our own flavor of Adventure gaming. A few wise sages once gathered to play a game known as dungeons and dragons. It was found, however, that rules were burdensome and...well, an impediment to peoples' ability to exercise their own roleplaying ability. So we decided to not use them. Cinematic Epic is our way, our style, which involves the use of the skills a character has described in his back story or has shown skill within character as a kind of soft-math modifier and everything is based on a standard d20. In Cinematic Epic, you choose your action carefully, because you're not protected, for example, by a silly faith in the invulnerability of your AC 22 at level one (In standard DND, having plate and a well made character at level one rendered you nearly impervious to damage- no, you don't block the damage, you're not hit.) Let's demonstrate an example of an average combat turn in PathfinderCE: DM: "You enter a room- across the room you see an orc with a battleaxe clutched in meaty green hands, he roars and charges toward you". Defending player: "I raise my shield to block". Following the statement of the Player Character's reaction, the two would roll a d20 each. The simplicity of raising one's shield confers a small bonus, while the rage of an orc, unconcerned for his life, gives him his own bonus. Let's say the Defending player rolls an 11, while the attacking Orc rolls an 18. DM: "The orc brings down his axe, splintering the wooden shield, but avoiding the arm of the warrior who dared to stand in his way".''' This could have gone much worse, or much better, it is all based on luck and tact. That is the way of cinematic epic. The Basics of Good, Enjoyable Roleplay, and Things to Avoid I shall provide you with a few things to consider when you gathering with your adventuring party to go out on quests and such; points to keep in mind to optimize the flow of the game and to improve quality. # '''Respect: '''Show respect to your other players. This is extremely important and non-negotiable! Bad-blood between players is self-destructive and can make it hard for a GM and the other members of your group to enjoy the experience. # '''The Meta....Burn it with fire: '''Meta-gaming is the term used to define when a Player Character uses outside knowledge that their character in-game would not possess, or takes actions that are not within the alignment of their character in order to benefit. This is a no-no; it greatly destroys others' immersion, decreases respect for one's roleplaying, and makes it difficult for anyone to have fun discussing characters for fear you will act on information you do not possess. Avoid it at all costs. # '''Being Disruptive/Inattentive: '''Being disruptive has a pretty obvious connotation. Constantly interjecting to mention something you found while surfing the web on your phone or such is, as mentioned, disruptive. Annoying to some and flow breaking to others, this can reduce enjoyment. Next, inattentiveness is one not paying attention- now it can be understood to a point- if your character is not involved, having left the group or being dead, but this does not excuse completely a lack of knowledge on what is going on- especially if you intend to act. Using one's phone till it is your turn, then asking for a complete recap of the situation is bad. Don't do it. # '''The Big Metal Hand in the Sky/God/The All-Mighty Game Master: '''So, this is a simple and sweet one. The game-master is the final word, the referee, the world-builder. He is judge, jury, and executioner and your best friend along with worst enemy. The Game-master's word is final, do not argue, do not dispute, do not question. The Game-master must remain unchallenged for authority to be maintained. If you absolutely feel you must comment on something, whether to try and remind him of something your character has, or to make a statement of a private action- use the phone and text him. Character Building When making a character, there are a few points to keep in mind. The following are building blocks and steps to creating a fun and enjoyable character to play: # '''Background: '''It needn't be long or in-depth if you don't plan on playing a complex story. Keep no secrets from the GM, tell him what you intend of the character, show him your ideas and make them known. The GM is unlikely to throw you a bone in terms of story involvement unless you give him a drumstick. This is your story, your past experiences and achievements. Do not make your character just a series of abilities with no personality or past whose sole purpose is to do cool stuff. # '''A Clear and Distinct Manner: Is your character fearful or brave? Are they a sage or a daredevil? Are they arrogant or humble? These are just a few examples, but remember to keep in mind how you wish your character to be played and then play them as such. But this also leads us to our next point. # '''Be Fluid: '''So, your character has a set manner, a background and a life before adventure. After all that is established, there is one very important thing that you need to keep in mind-- the campaign will never, ever go exactly as you desired. This means that, as a player, you will need to be '''Fluid. '''Being fluid means possessing the ability to adapt to fit a scenario, keeping your distinct manner in mind, and molding the scenario to work for you. Perhaps in order to enjoy a tenser environment, your brave barbarian has a superstitious side to him that causes him to get down to earth with fear of the unknown, and thus allow it to be believable. The environment around you can be ever-changing, so always be prepared to face anything! # '''Embrace Character Development: '''Character changes are part of the creation of a good character. A true adventurer evolves based on life experience and his travels will bring him wealth and advancement. A lowly farmer can become the cruelest tyrant, an elven pickpocket could become a lich later in life. You never know, but always remember the bottom line-- Change is good, if it is explainable or believable. A man who is a farmer one game-session, and another he is a black plate armored warlord would need some explanation. This does not mean you need to explain yourself to your fellow players, they should respect that the GM has your aims under control and finds your course acceptable, what I mean is to explain it to your GM, to make sure -he- agrees with it all. # '''The Bigger Picture: '''Sometimes, a story grows bigger than it's characters, and vice-versa. If death comes to collect your character, remember that events such as it, will make the story all the better to look back on. When you have watched your small town night watchman grow into a champion of arms and a hero of the people, it will be very hard to let him go. But wouldn't the story be a lot more exciting if the brave knight rode straight at the dragon in order to buy time for his followers to escape? Also, remember that a character needs time to grow, the power to summon a meteor from the sky will be a lot more satisfying if you earned the power to do so, rather than walking into the session with an itemized list of godlike powers collected from your favorite video game characters. To be continued.